Q+A with PREP SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL Author Kara Taylor

Hello everyone,
We are so excited to have author debut Kara Taylor here on our blog today! I just finished her book Prep School Confidential and enjoyed it a whole lot.

If you like mysteries set in prep schools with a charming heroine sleuth Prep School Confidential is made for you:

In this breathtaking debut that reads like Gossip Girl crossed with Twin Peaks, a Queen Bee at a blue-blooded New England prep school stumbles into a murder mystery.

Anne Dowling practically runs her exclusive academy on New York’s Upper East Side—that is, until she accidentally burns part of it down and gets sent to a prestigious boarding school outside of Boston. Determined to make it back to New York, Anne couldn't care less about making friends at the preppy Wheatley School. That is, until her roommate Isabella’s body is found in the woods behind the school.

When everyone else is oddly silent, Anne becomes determined to uncover the truth no matter how many rules she has to break to do it. With the help of Isabella’s twin brother Anthony, and a cute classmate named Brent, Anne discovers that Isabella wasn’t quite the innocent nerdy girl she pretended to be. But someone will do anything to stop Anne’s snooping in this fast-paced, unputdownable read—even if it means framing her for Isabella’s murder.

Without further ado, here's the interview...

Hi Kara! Welcome to our blog! Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Anne Dowling is the queen bee of her NYC prep school. How alike are you to Anne when you were in high school?
Anne and I could not be more different! She was a Queen Bee, and I was a wallflower. I was that slightly nerdy girl who wasn’t unpopular, but no one really knew my name. Now, I’m a little more outspoken like Anne is!

What was your inspiration for Wheatley School? Did you do a lot of research to get that authentic prep school feel in your novel or was it based on personal experience?
I went to public school, so I had to talk to people who went to prep schools for research. But, a lot of the boarding school elements were based on personal experience from my first year of college. A lot of what goes on in Anne’s dorm building was inspired by real events or people. I won’t say what, exactly, since not all of it is positive! (Example, the passive-aggressive sticky notes from Alexis…)

Anthony or Brent? Are you more drawn to prickly bad boys or nice guys in literature?
I can’t choose between Anthony and Brent! Although if I absolutely had to, in real life, I’d go with Brent. I’m not sure Anne would make the same decision, but I’m more drawn to nice guys that have a layer of deviousness to their personalities. Brent isn’t a typical “good” guy…he’s a typical teenage boy, and does stupid things that contradict his good boy outer layer.

Can you tell us a little bit more of what's to come in book 2? Will the books in the series build on each other or will they work more as companion novels?
Book 2 picks up a month or so after book 1 leaves off. The mystery of Isabella’s death is completely solved, and Anne is faced with a new, and decades-old, mystery. But all of the characters will be returning, and there will be loose ends that span across the books in the series, so I wouldn’t say they could necessarily stand alone.

This or That lightning round--you must choose one or the other and you cannot explain your answer:E-books or physical books? Physical books!Early bird or night owl? Early birdBrownies or cupcakes? CupcakesCoffee or tea? CoffeeBaby chicks or ducklings? DucklingsVeronica Mars or Nancy Drew? Nancy Drew!!

A big thanks to Kara for answering our questions. For more info about Kara, visit her website and her Tumblr. Kara is also on Twitter (her dad anecdotes are the best!).

If any of you guys read Prep School Confidential already, I'd love to chat with you about it. If you haven't, I recommend it--especially if you're a Nancy Drew fan or the more recent Liar Society series by Lisa and Laura Roecker.